Val Walker is a rehabilitation consultant and blogger for Psychology Today, Social Self, and Health Story Collaborative. She is the author of The Art of Comforting, which won the Nautilus Gold Medal Book Award, and 400 Friends and No One to Call. With a Master of Science degree in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University, she has led support groups for twenty-four years for people living with chronic illness, disability, grief, and trauma. She lives in Boston and teaches and speaks throughout New England at human services agencies, medical centers, hospices, universities, and community education programs.

Val's articles, interviews, and advice quotes have appeared in national publications such as TIME, AARP, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Coping with Cancer, Boston Globe Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and others. Since 2020, media appearances include Parade, Next Avenue, Rewire, Boomer Magazine, Babyboomer.com, Healthy Aging, Caregiver Space, Caregiver Solutions, and Sweety High.